49 CFR 395 - HOURS OF SERVICE OF DRIVERS

FMCSA extends the comment period for the Agency's June 5, 2012, notice concerning regulatory guidance on the applicability of the oilfield operations exceptions in the hours-of-service regulations, and announces that the Agency will hold three public listening sessions to receive comments on the issue. The Agency extends the deadline for public comments from August 6 to October 5, 2012. The listening sessions will be open to the public and webcast in their entirety.

The property-carrier hours-of-service (HOS) rules in 49 CFR 395.3 are applicable to drivers operating commercial motor vehicles designed or used to transport passengers on “driveaway-towaway” trips, as defined in 49 CFR 390.5. This notice provides Federal and State enforcement personnel, and the motor carrier industry, with uniform guidance concerning these rules.

FMCSA announces its revision of regulatory guidance to clarify the applicability of the “Oilfield operations” exceptions in 49 CFR 395.1(d) to the “Hours of Service of Drivers” regulations, and requests comments on the revision. The regulatory guidance is being revised to ensure consistent understanding and application of the regulatory exceptions.

FMCSA issues regulatory guidance to clarify that a co-driver may make entries to an automatic on-board recording device (AOBRD) while a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) is in motion. The prohibition in 49 CFR 395.15 against making entries to an AOBRD while the vehicle is in motion pertains only to the current driver. This guidance responds to recent inquiries from manufacturers of recording devices concerning updates to the duty status of co-drivers making the transition from the passenger seat to the sleeper berth or vice versa.

FMCSA corrects the hours of service (HOS) final rule published on December 27, 2011 (76 FR 81143). This correction notice corrects the amendatory language or guidance to legal editors of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) on the proper codification of the December 27, 2011 rule. This notice does not change, in any manner, the regulatory text.

This final rule makes technical corrections throughout title 49 CFR subtitle B, chapter III. The Agency is making minor editorial changes to add revised delegations of authority from the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary), correct errors and omissions, and improve clarity. This rule does not make any substantive changes to the affected parts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).

FMCSA announces that it will hold its third and final public listening session to receive comments on the Agency's June 5, 2012, notice concerning regulatory guidance on the applicability of the oilfield operations exceptions in the hours-of-service regulations. In an August 6, 2012, Federal Register notice, the Agency extended the deadline for public comments from August 6 to October 5, 2012. As with the previous sessions, the Dallas listening session will be open to the public and webcast in its entirety.

FMCSA extends the comment period for the Agency's June 5, 2012, notice concerning regulatory guidance on the applicability of the oilfield operations exceptions in the hours-of-service regulations, and announces that the Agency will hold three public listening sessions to receive comments on the issue. The Agency extends the deadline for public comments from August 6 to October 5, 2012. The listening sessions will be open to the public and webcast in their entirety.

The property-carrier hours-of-service (HOS) rules in 49 CFR 395.3 are applicable to drivers operating commercial motor vehicles designed or used to transport passengers on “driveaway-towaway” trips, as defined in 49 CFR 390.5. This notice provides Federal and State enforcement personnel, and the motor carrier industry, with uniform guidance concerning these rules.

FMCSA announces its revision of regulatory guidance to clarify the applicability of the “Oilfield operations” exceptions in 49 CFR 395.1(d) to the “Hours of Service of Drivers” regulations, and requests comments on the revision. The regulatory guidance is being revised to ensure consistent understanding and application of the regulatory exceptions.

FMCSA issues regulatory guidance to clarify that a co-driver may make entries to an automatic on-board recording device (AOBRD) while a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) is in motion. The prohibition in 49 CFR 395.15 against making entries to an AOBRD while the vehicle is in motion pertains only to the current driver. This guidance responds to recent inquiries from manufacturers of recording devices concerning updates to the duty status of co-drivers making the transition from the passenger seat to the sleeper berth or vice versa.

FMCSA announces that it will hold a public listening session to solicit information, concepts, ideas, and comments on Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRs) and the issue of driver harassment. Specifically, the Agency wants to know what factors, issues, and data it should consider as it addresses the distinction between productivity and harassment: What will prevent harassment from occurring; what types of harassment already exist; how frequently and to what extent harassment happens; and how an electronic device such as an EOBR, capable of contemporaneous transmission of information to a motor carrier, will guard against (or fail to guard against) harassment. Additionally, the Agency will solicit concepts, ideas, and comments from enforcement personnel on the hours-of-service (HOS) information they would need to see on the EOBR display screen to effectively enforce the HOS rules at the roadside and the type of evidence they would need to retain in order to support issuing drivers citations for HOS violations observed during roadside inspections. This session will be held in Bellevue, Washington (WA), and will allow interested persons to present comments, views, and relevant new research that FMCSA should consider in development of Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM). This listening session will be recorded and a transcript of the session will be placed in the docket for FMCSA's consideration. The listening session will also be webcast via the Internet and will allow for email interactivity during the webcast.

FMCSA announces that it will hold a public listening session to solicit information, concepts, ideas, and comments on Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRs) and the issue of driver harassment. Specifically, the Agency wants to know what factors, issues, and data it should consider as it addresses the distinction between productivity and harassment: what will prevent harassment from occurring; what types of harassment already exist; how frequently and to what extent harassment happens; and how an electronic device such as an EOBR, capable of contemporaneous transmission of information to a motor carrier will guard against (or fail to guard against) harassment. This session will be held in Louisville, Kentucky (KY), and will allow interested persons to present comments, views, and relevant new research that FMCSA should consider in development of the final rule. This listening session will be recorded and a transcript of the session will be placed in the docket for FMCSA's consideration. The listening session will also be webcast via the Internet.